Hardik Pandya. (Source – Getty Images)
Star Indian allrounder Hardik Pandya made a resounding comeback after being ripped apart by social media users and spectators throughout the IPL 2024. The all-rounder was subjected to trolling and boos whenever he entered the stadium after he took over Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians’ captain. But as it stands out, he made the critics eat up their own words delivering match-winning performances in the T20 World Cup 2024 for India.
Notably, Hardik bagged the Man of the Match award against Bangladesh and delivered the World Cup-defining over as he defended 16 off the last over against South Africa in the Final. As the world turned its head towards Hardik, his brother Krunal Pandya took to Instagram and shared a heartwarming note. He added that the treatment his brother was subjected to over six months was unjustified.
“It’s almost been a decade since Hardik and I started playing professional cricket. And the last few days have been like a fairy tale that we’ve dreamt off. Like every countryman I’ve lived this through our teams heroics and I couldn’t be more emotional with my brother being at the heart of it,” Krunal wrote in the caption.
“The last six months have been the toughest for Hardik. He simply didn’t deserve what he went through, and as a brother, I felt very, very bad for him. From booing, to people saying all kinds of nasty things, at the end of the day, we all forgot that he is just a human being who also has emotions. He somehow passed through all of this with a smile, though I know how hard it was for him to put on a smile. He kept working hard and focusing on what he needed to do to get the World Cup since that was his ultimate objective,” he added.
Check out Krunal Pandya’s latest Instagram post here:
Indian pacers deliver nerve-wracking five overs
Team India had to defended 30 runs in as many balls to lift the trophy with Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller on strike. Hardik Pandya sent marauding Klaasen packing in the 17th over and later dismissed Miller on the first ball of the penultimate over.
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Commendably, pacer Jasprit Bumrah bowled two overs at death and gave away just five runs while cleaning up Marco Jansen. Arshdeep Singh pitched in with a seven-run over in the middle as India won the game by seven runs.